Piston valve assembly



' June 27, 1944.

J. R. RUsHMER i l 2,352,410

rPISTON VALVE ASSEMBLY Filed July 6', 1943 Patented June 27, 1'944 UNITED STATES PATENT 'OFFICE 2,352,410

Pls'roN VALVE ASSEMBLY John Robbins Rushmr, Amarillo, Tex. Application July 1943, Serin No. r9-3,686

` 4 claims. (o1. l10s-225) My invention relates to a piston or'poppet type valve assembly which is more especially intended for use in a pump whereby grout or other liquid borne abrasive material may -be placed under pressure and forcibly introduced into al sub-soil cavity or pocket, as for example into the 'base of the ballast and into the voids or pockets beneath the ties of railroad tracks-by means of a suitable tool or nozzle; or for the introduction of Suitable solidifying material into the voids or pockets of other types of sub-structures.

The invention contemplates a piston and valve assembly which may be easily assembled and readily introduced into the cylinder of the pump and involves suitable cushioning` means forthe piston assembly adapted to withstand the great pressures developed during operation; as well as the inclusion in the assembly of a leak-proof valve adapted to prevent undue wear of the seating surfaces.

The invention also has for its object the provision of an assembly whereby easy access to the various elements may be had for the purpose of repair or replacement when occasion arises.

The objects and advantages of my invention will be readily comprehended from the detailed description of the accompanying drawing, wherein- Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view of my improved assembly with portions of the cylinder and of the piston rod broken away; the piston valve being shown in raised or material admitting position. v

Figure 2 is a similar view with the upper end of the cylinder and of the piston rod broken away, showing the lower end of the cylinder and its outlet, with the valve on its seat.

Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line 3 3 of Figure l, on an enlarged scale, looking in the direction of the arrows.

Figure 4 is a cross-sectional View of the valve and the packing element.

My invention relates to a valve assembly intended for use in the cylinder of a power operated pump whereby the fluid is placed under considerable pressure; being especially intended for controlling grout or other liquid borne abrasive material, as for example, with the method of pressure grouting whereby quick setting material may be introduced into the base of the ballast and into voids or pockets beneath ties ofy railroad tracks for the purpose c-f stabilizing or solidifying the railway roadbed.

It will be understood that the piston valve assem-bly is actuated by any suitable source of power (not shown) whereby the piston rod is given reciprocatory movement; and that the previously prepared material or grout from an eX- ternal source is intended to flow, preferably fby gravity, into the upper end of the cylinder. As

this mechanism and arrangement are of well known construction, illustration thereof is not deemed necessary.

The specic exemplification of the invention illustrated in the drawing consists of a vertically disposed cylinder I0 of predetermined length and diameter, whose upper end is open to receive the prepared liquid borne material; while the lower end of the cylinder is closed by the enlarged heavy base plate I I. 'The cylinder adjacent the bottom and at one side is shown provided with an outlet I2 to which a suitable pipe or hose is intended to be connected, whereby the material is conveyed to the point ofuse. The outlet I2 is provided with asuitable lcheck valve I3 -for preventing back-ow of the material.

The valve assemblyv comprises a pair of metal rods or bars I4, I4 of preselected length and preferably arranged diametrically opposite each other as shown in Figure 3, with the upper ends spaced by and connected to a centrally apertured annular plate or ring I5. The lower ends of the frame members or bars I4, I4 are secured vto a metal valve seat I5, provided with a large central open-r ing therethrough whose upper orifice is beveled or tapered outwardly as shown at Il to correspond with the seating surface of the poppet valve I8 which is removably secured to the lower end of the piston rod I9, -by means of the nut 20 which screws onto the reduced threaded end of the rod. The rod I'Sslidably extends through a central aperture in the guide ring 2I and through thecentral aperture in the plate or ring I5; the rings I5 and 2| 'being preferably spaced a suitable distance apart. The lower ends of the framerods or bars I4, I4 may be secured to the valve seat member I6 in any suitable manner, preferably by welding; the guide ring 2l also being immovably secured to the frame members or bars I4, I4 so as to cause said elements to move in unison. l

The valve I8 is shown with a ilat upper facen adapted to engage with the lower face of the guide ring 2l, when the piston rod I9 is recipro` cated upwardly and the valve I8-is moved off its seat to open position, thereby causing the entire valve assembly to move upwardly during the further upward movement of the piston rod I9.

The valve Ill preferably is provided at its upper tangular in cross-section and is composed ofwoven or brous rubberized material moulded rubber or other suitable non-metallic material;

the packing 25 snugly fitting into the slot or groove 24, extending continuously around the body of the valve and initially protruding slightly beyond the body of the valve at a downwardly sloping angle so as to match and Contact with the upper beveled orice I'I of the valve-seat member I6, as shown in Figure 2. It has been found in practice that the usefulness of a valve provided with a plain metal seating surface when employed in a mud or grout pump soon became impaired due to the wire drawing or transverse channel producing effect of the abrasive liquid borne material, necessitating a complete replacement of the entire valve and valve-seat member. With the packing 25 arranged as described, it is apparent that a comparatively wide seating contact with the seat member I6 is effected and leakage of the grout or liquid borne material past the valve-seat is prevented and the effective operating life of the valve and the valve-seat member greatly enhanced.

Disposed at a slight distance beneath the valveseat member I6 is a packing cup 26, provided with a central opening 2'I, while its turned down edge or perimeter is arranged in close sliding contact with the inner wall of the cylinder I0. ing cup 26 is held spaced from the bottom of the valve-seat member I6 by the superposed packing rings 28, preferably two rings being employed, although a single ring of the combined thickness of the rings could be employed. The rings 28 are provided with embedded metal plates or rings of diameter suiicient to form lateral support for the packing rings 28 which have annular openings of the same diameter as the opening in the valveseat I6.

The packing cup 26 is supported in place by the flat sided ring 29 which has an opening substantially of the same size as the opening in the valve-seat; and this ring, together with the packing cup 26 and intermediate packing rings 28, are supported from the valve-seat member I6 by a suitable number of spaced screws or bolts 30 which screw upwardly into tapped holes in the valve-seat member I6.

As is apparent from the foregoing description and the drawing, the valve seat, packing cup and intermediate packing rings are all operatively connected to the frame members or bars I4, I4 and are made to move or reciprocate in unison; the packing cup, valve-seat member and the valve (when the latter is seated) combinedly acting as a plunger or composite piston for placing the grouting material in the lower part of the cylinder under pressure.

In operation the liquid borne material or grout is allowed to ow into the upper end of the cylinder II) and through the open-sided or skeleton frame consisting of the two rods or bars I4, I4. As the guide plates or rings I 5 and 2| are arranged between the bars I4. I4 and hence re-l moved from the sides of the cylinder I0, the large segmental openings or passages are provided on opposite sides of the bars I4, I4, as clearly shown in Figure 3, thus allowing the material to iiow freely beneath the raised valve, through the valve-seat opening and into the lower end of the cylinder I beneath the packing cup 26. Upon the downward reciprocation of the piston rod I9, valve I8 is moved toward its seat and its packing 25 brought into snug sealing relation with the valve-seat, thereby shutting off further flow of material into the lower end of the cylinder. The continued downward reciprocation of the power actuated piston-rod I9 causes the composite piston assembly to move downwardly in The packl spirit of my invention as dened in the appended claims. l

What I claimv is:

1. In a piston valve assembly of the character described, a reciprocatingly mounted valve member provided with a tapered perimeter adjacent its lower seating side, the tapered perimeter being provided with an annular groove arranged at right angles to the tapered perimeter, and an annular packing arranged in said groove with its outer face disposed parallel with the tapered perimeter of the valve member.

2. A piston valve assembly comprising an opensided frame; a valve-seat member provided with a beveled opening therethrough and secured to the lower end of the open-sided frame; a pistonrod reciprocatingly mounted in said frame; a valve removably secured to the lower end of the piston-rod, said valve being provided with downwardly and outwardly extending non-metallic packing on its perimeter adapted to engage the valve-seat; and a packing cup secured to the lower side of the valve-seat.

3. In a piston valve assembly, elongated cir- 'f cumferentially spaced bars held in spaced relation by centrally apertured spacing rings arranged between the bars; a valve-seat member secured to the lower ends of said bars and provided with a central opening having an outwardly tapered orifice; packing means secured to the lower side of said valve-seat member; a pistonrod slidably disposed through the apertures of said spacing rings; and a Valve member removably secured to the lower end of said rod, said :valve member having a beveled perimeter matching the tapered orice of the valve-seat member, said beveled perimeter being provided with a nonmetallic circumferential packing whose outer perimeter is arranged parallel with the tapered orice of the valve-seat member.

4. In a piston valve assembly of the character described, vertically disposed, circumferentially spaced bars; a centrally apertured guide member arranged between the bars intermediate the ends thereof and secured thereto; a centrally apertured valve-seat member secured to the lower ends of the bars; an apertured packing cup arranged beneath the valve-seat member; packing means arranged intermediate the cup and the valve-seat member; means whereby the cup and packing means are removably secured to the valve-seat member; a piston-rod slidably disposed through said guide member; and a valve member removably secured to the lower end of the piston-rod and adapted to seat in the valveseat aperture; the valve-seat member and the guide member being arranged a predetermined distance apart, whereby the valve-seat member, the packing cup and packing means will move downwardly with the piston-rod when the valve is seated and said assembled elements caused to move upwardly with the piston-rod after the valve engages said guide member.

JOHN ROBBINS RUSHMER. 

